Outcomes of the Engineering and Innovation review.

Our school of Engineering and Innovation has recently had its Periodic Quality Review (PQR) and we’d like to share the positive outcomes of this with you. The PQR is one of the university’s monitoring and review activities that provides each area with the opportunity to holistically review the quality and standards of the last six years, ensuring both quality assurance and enhancement of the student journey.

During the PQR, the panel reviewed a host of evidence and heard feedback from staff, students and external advisers to reach a positive judgement on the academic quality and standards of the School of Engineering and Innovation provision.

We would like to thank again the group of students who met with the review panel to express their views and share their experiences of studying Engineering and Innovation modules and qualifications.

The panel made 7 commendations and 9 recommendations, some of which are summarised here:

The panel commended:

• The focus on supporting student employability through the integration of personal and professional development skills in the newer engineering modules and as designed into the new Bachelor of Design and Innovation.
• Its design-led approach to qualification design, student support and student community building.
• The breadth of the programmes offered and the way in which their generalised approach is balanced with opportunities for student specialism.

The panel recommended:

• That the school develop a formal strategy to increase the number of staff teaching on engineering programmes to become professionally registered with the Engineering Council.
• That the school develop a plan which outlines how it will develop direct, rather than incidental, student voice activities, and how it will provide feedback to students on their input.

The Engineering and Innovation team are now in the process of preparing an action plan to respond to these recommendations.

If you would like to know more about the findings of the Review, please contact the Periodic Quality Review (PQR) Team on pqr-mailbox@open.ac.uk.